M. A. Hemminga

The nitrogen supply to intertidal eelgrass (Zostera marina)

The uptake of ammonium and nitrate by eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) was studied in two-compartment chambers. The plants were collected in 1992 from a population growing on a tidal flat in the S.W. Netherlands. They were incubated under conditions which reflected field conditions; this implied the use of natural seawater and sediment porewater as incubation media. In all six experiments, carried out over the course of a major part of the growing period (from July to the end of September), ammonium appeared to be much more important as a source of nitrogen than nitrate. The largest part was taken up by the leaves: uptake of ammonium by the leaves accounted for 68 to 92% of total plant nitrogen uptake. The uptake of nitrogen compounds by the root-rhizome system represented only 4 to 30% of total plant uptake. Thus, at least during flood tide, the leaves play the major role in nitrogen uptake in this intertidal population. During ebb tide, most of the plants are submerged in very shallow tidepools. It is suggested that during this phase of the tidal cycle, influx of porewater ammonium into the tide-pool water may enable the leaves to exploit local sediment resources.

The relationship between silicon availability, and growth and silicon concentration of the salt marsh halophyte Spartina anglica.

Analysis of silicon concentrations of various halophytes from salt marshes in the S.W. Netherlands shows that the silicon concentration of Spartina anglica (Gramineae) is relatively high. To study the influence of dissolved Si concentrations on growth and plant tissue concentrations of S. anglica, silicic acid was introduced into the sediment of natural patches of this halophyte occurring on a tidal flat. This resulted in a strong increase in dissolved silicon levels in the sediment porewater. In addition, S. anglica was cultured in the laboratory on nutrient solution enriched with dissolved silicon. Neither in the field nor in the laboratory experiment did the increased silicon levels have effects on shoot growth or led to consistent increases in the silicon concentration of plant tissues. Finally, different S. anglica stands in a number of salt marshes around the Oosterschelde basin were examined on sediment porewater silicon concentrations and silicon plant tissue concentrations. Sediment porewater silicon levels ranged between 36 and 554 μM. The average silicon concentration of the shoots from the various populations ranged between 3.52 and 11.73 mg/g DW. Consistent with the results of the field and laboratory experiments, there was no correlation between porewater silicon concentrations and average shoot length at the different sites, nor between porewater silicon concentrations and shoot silicon levels. Apparently, vegetative growth and tissue silicon concentrations of S. anglica do not respond to concentrations of dissolved Si in the range to which the plants were exposed naturally or experimentally in the field and in the laboratory (ca. 15–550 μM). In the data set pertaining to the different S. anglica field populations, however, negative correlations were observed between the average number of leaves per shoot at the different locations and the total silicon content of the 4th and 2nd leaves and of the entire shoots. The possible mechanisms explaining differences in tissue Si concentrations are discussed.

Assessment of the molecular composition of particulate organic matter exchanged between the Saeftinghe salt marsh (southwestern Netherlands) and the adjacent water system

Abstract In this study the chemical composition of seston, transported by tidal water between an estuarine salt marsh and the adjacent water system, was assessed. The analytical techniques used are Pyrolysis in combination with Gas Chromatography and/or Mass Spectrometry. Interpretation of the Py-MS data was aided by discriminant analysis. The presented results indicate that throughout the year a dominant refractory fraction is present in the seston, but that seasonal additions can be distinguished. Apart from this seasonal pattern, differences between ebb and flood can be visualized by the use of discriminant analysis. During summertime, flood seston is enriched with lipids and recently synthesized polysaccharides, while during the rest of the year the flood tide samples contain more (remains of) lignin and polysaccharides than their ebb tide counterparts. The lignin markers comprise only fragments with extremely altered (reduced) character. These results, which highlight the molecular composition of the exchanged seston but do not offer exact quantitative budget estimations, provide no evidence for export of lignin-rich particulate halophytic material from the marsh to the water system. On the contrary, based on seston compositions, the water system seems to supply lignin-rich particles to the marsh during a considerable part of the year.

Estuarine gradients and the growth and development of Agapanthia villosoviridescens, (Coleoptera), a stem-borer of the salt marsh halophyte Aster tripolium

SummaryPhytophagous insects of estuarine salt marshes which live inside their host plants are not directly exposed to estuarine gradients. Host plant quality, however, may change along the estuary as a result of the direct effects of these gradients; as a consequence growth and development of endophagous insects may be influenced. The results of a study of the life cycle of Agapanthia villosoviridescens (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae), a stem-borer of the halophyte Aster tripolium, on three salt marshes along the Westerschelde estuary (the Netherlands) are in line with this hypothesis. It was shown that in upstream direction (1) mean larval weights were consistently higher during the entire period of larval development; (2) the percentage of late instars on a given sampling date generally was higher; (3) the percentage of larvae which underwent successful metamorphosis increased. Furthermore, (4) dry weight of the imagos was highest on the least saline marsh. The effects of estuarine gradients on the Aster host plants was indicated by differences in growth and chloride content between the populations of the three marshes. The non-overlapping geographic distribution of Agapanthia villosoviridescens and its host plant Aster tripolium on the Westerschelde salt marshes may be related to the effects of estuarine gradients on the suitability of the host plant.

The performance of the leaf mining microlepidopteran Bucculatrix maritima (Stt.) on the salt marsh halophyte, Aster tripolium (L.), exposed to different salinity conditions

SummaryThe performance of phytophagous insects is influenced by the nutritional quality of the food plant, which may vary with environmental conditions. Hardly any information exists on food-plant mediated effects of variable soil salinity on the performance of phytophagous insects. Conspicuous differences in salinity levels, however, are found in soils of intertidal wetlands such as salt marshes and mangroves. The growth of larvae of Bucculatrix maritima, a leaf miner of the salt marsh halophyte Aster tripolium, was studied on the host plant along the salinity gradient of the Westerschelde estuary (S.W. Netherlands). In addition, its performance on A. tripolium grown on low or high salinity culture medium was investigated experimentally. Although salinity conditions significantly influenced the chemistry of the host plants, insect performance seemed almost unaffected, although near the mouth of the estuary high environmental salinities may have caused some inhibition of larval growth. The results contrast with our previous studies on the stem-borer Agapanthia villosoviridescens, which showed that growth and development was conspicuously influenced by the changing characteristics of Aster tripolium along the estuarine salinity gradient. The location-dependent qualities of halophytes in an estuary thus appear to have species-specific effects on insect performance. We hypothesize that this phenomenon contributes to the existence of non-identical distribution patterns of phytophagous insects associated with the same halophyte in an estuary.

Estuarine gradients determining the quality of tidal marsh halophytes as host plants for endophagous insect larvae: Experimental evidence

Phytophagous insects of estuarine tidal marshes which live inside their host plants, are, in contrast to the plants, not directly exposed to the estuarine salinity gradient. Previous field studies, however, have shown that patterns of growth and development ofAgapanthia villosoviridescens larvae, stem-borers of the halophyteAster tripolium, gradually change on tidal marshes along the Westerschelde estuary (HEMMINGA and VAN SOELEN, 1988). In the present study we carried out a laboratory experiment in which we followed growth ofA. villosoviridescens larvae from two different Westerschelde tidal marshes; the larvae either were kept inA. tripolium stems from their own marsh, or they were kept in stems from the other marsh. It was found that larvae from both tidal marshes showed larger weight increases inA. tripolium stems from the least saline marsh. Apparently, differences in host plant quality between stems of the two marshes exist. The results lend support to the hypothesis that growth and development, and distribution and abundance of phytophagous insects in estuarine tidal marshes may be indirectly influenced by estuarine gradients,via the host plant quality which changes along the estuary.